Today, the California State Senate will vote on landmark legislation authored by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco), which would make California the first state in the country to ban dangerous chemicals used in baby toys.  If passed by the Senate, the bill will move on to the Governor’s desk. The bill will be managed on the Senate Floor by Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter).

The Senate vote comes in the wake of a powerful declaration by the world’s leading environmental scientists who warned that exposure to common chemicals including phthalates makes babies more likely to develop an array of health problems later in life. Last week, at the International Conference on Fetal Programming and Development Toxicity, scientist also urged leaders not to wait any longer to take action.  Click here to read the May 25 Los Angeles Times article.

AB 1108, sponsored by Environment California, will prohibit the manufacture, sale, and distribution of toys and child care products intended for use by children under the age of three that contain certain phthalates. Phthalates interfere with the hormone system and have been linked to reproductive defects, premature birth, and early onset of puberty. Phthalates are listed on California’s Prop 65 list as reproductive toxins. 14 countries and the European Union have already banned or are phasing out the chemical.

AB 1108 is modeled after a unanimously passed ordinance Ma wrote when she was on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Monday, July 16, 2007
Floor Session begins at Noon

State Capitol, Senate Floor
Sacramento, CA

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma
Senator Dean Florez